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There will be couple of caps given: Hardik Pandya hints Umran, Arshdeep, Tripathi could make debut vs Ireland

India will play Ireland in a two-match T20I series from Sunday (June 26). With Test players missing as they prepare for the upcoming one-off Test match against England, the Men in Blue have flown to Ireland with a second-string squad. Hardik Pandya has hinted that some Indian players could make their debut.

TN Sports Desk

Updated Jun 25, 2022, 22:39 IST

Hardik Pandya hinted that couple of Indian players could make their debut against Ireland

Photo : AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Hardik Pandya will lead India for the first time against Ireland
India and Ireland will face two T20Is against each other
Hardik hinted a couple of Indian players could make their debut in the series

Hardik Pandya is set to make his captaincy debut for the Indian cricket team when the Men in Blue take the field for a two-match T20I series against Ireland. The series opener will take place on Sunday (June 26) at the Village, Malahide Cricket Club. The second and final game of the series will take place at the same venue on Tuesday (June 28).

India are missing several first-choice players as no member of Test team are with the team. The red-ball squad is preparing for the marquee Test match against England which will take place from July 1 at Edgbaston. They are currently playing a warm-up game against Leicestershire.

Despite being severely understrength, India still have a strong squad at their disposal as only Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are missing from the team that drew the recently concluded home series against South Africa. The Men in Blue have also got a major boost with the return of Suryakumar Yadav. In the series against the Proteas, the Indians played the same playing XI in all fives games.

The wider expectation is for the same XI to play the two-match series against Ireland with Suryakumar and one of Sanju Samson/Deepak Hooda taking Pant and Iyer's place in the XI. However, there might be some experimentation on display as Hardik hinted at some players making their debut in the series by claiming a couple of players will be given caps.

“We want to give opportunity to people but want to play our best XI as well. There will be situation where there will be a couple of caps given but more than anything, it's about making sure that we have the best XI,” said Hardik in the pre-match press conference.

In India's touring party; Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, and Rahul Tripathi are the only players who are uncapped. While Umran and Arshdeep sat on the bench against South Africa, Tripathi received his first-ever India call-up after being named in the squad to face Ireland.

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